Ice-making machine.



T. H. RAY.

10B MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1913.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

T. H. mi

10B MAKING MACHINE,

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1913.

1,077,916. Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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ICE MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. zo, 191s vPazened Nov. 4, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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IGB MAKING MACHINE.

APPLIoAfrIoN FILED MAB.. zo, 1913.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

THOMAS H. RAY, 0F DORCI-IESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

ICE-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

Application led March 20, 1913. Serial No. 755,653.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. RAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dorchester, in the county of Suolk vand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ice- Making Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had thereinto the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to provide an ice making machine wherein substantially all of the heat absorbing surfaces, including the feed and the return header heretofore located above the water in the tank, may be submerged in the water, and utilized as ice forming surfaces; and I attain this object by means of a thin hollow metallic plate both ends of which are provided with metal headers with suitable openings communicating with the interior of the hollow plate; z'. e. a lower blade feed lheader at the bottom, and an upper blade return header at the top, of the plate. By this structure I also can easily drain or blow off any oil orsediment that may collect at the bottom of the interior of the freezing blades. Further, this struct-ure permits the substitution of welded joints, for all prior metal connections, made within or over the water in the freezing tank, and Valso the doing away with the assemblage of a great number of parts. Y Still further, this structure permits of a greater or less duplication of hollow plates to increase the area of ice forming surfaces. `Also the contraction and expansion of the parts may take place without injury to them.

By providing openings of suitable size between the lower feed blade header and the lower portion of the hollow plate, the lower feed blade header serves as a reservoir from which liquid refrigerant will flow equally into the hollow plate or plates, while the area of the openings leading from the upper portion of the plate into the upper return blade header is enough larger than that of those in the lower blade, to permit the free escape of the liquid or gas employed in freezing, or the hot gas used in melting the ice off of the freezing surfaces of the plate, and blade headers.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the best mode now known of embodying the same in operative structure, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my invention; Fig. 2 shows it in elevation, mounted in a water tank; 3

is a bottom plan of the return blade header, one element of my structure; Fig. 4 illustrates in plan, the bottom feed blade header, another element; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of my structure; Fig. 6 is an end view of it, while Fig. 7 shows it in cross section. Fig. 8 is an end view of the water tank, one end of the tank having been removed for the purpose of clearly showing the pipe connections, water line in the tank, and ice on the ice forming surfaces. Fig. 9 shows in plan, the tank with connecting piping, a portion of the tank being broken out to reduce the size of the drawing. Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view showing ice forming surfaces. immersed in water, with ice thereon; flooring, hot gas pipes underneath it and resting on the bottom of the tank. Fig. 11 shows, in perspective, my invention when only one freezing blade is used, in combination with a top blade header and a bottom blade header. Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section of what appears in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of one feature of my invention, namely, a blade header; that shown being a return blade header, which is substantially lthe same as a feeding blade header.

In a suitable water tank A, Figs. 2', 8 and 9, is mounted one or more ice forming devices embodying my invention clearly shown in perspective in Figs. 1 and 11. A bottom feed blade header 1 and a top return blade header 2 are formed out of two lengths of pipe; a portion of each being compressed so that its opposite sides are substantially parallel, see Figs. 8, 4 and 7 the vertical parallel sides 3, 3, 4, 4, being designed to serve as ice forming surfaces. Lying between the top and the bottom header is ahollow blade 5 of thin steel, Figs. 5, 7 and 11, being in cross sect-ion, a narrow parallelogram, the width of which is substantially the equal of the distance between the parallel sides 3, 3, and 4, 4, of the bottom and top blade headers 1, 2. Holes 6, 7 Figs. 4, 5, and 12, suitable 'in size and number are formed respectively in the top and the bottom blade header, to communicate with the hollow blade 5 when permanently i'iXed to the headers, as by acetylene welding. If desirable. duplicate blades as 5', 52, etc. may be added, in like manner; the resulting structure always being unitary, however, and embodying my invention. One .or more refrigerant liquid by metal of equal thicki two or more separate of these units, as appears in Figs. 8 and 9, may be used in a freezing tank, but in any event each of the units is intended to be entirely submerged in the water; both the top blade header' and the bottom blade header passing through the walls of the tank below the water line of the tank and provided with suitable stuffing boxes, not shown.

' Upon the bottom 8 of the tank, between each unit, are hot gas coils '9 covered with boarding 10 constituting the floor of the tank,.upon parts of which each unit rests. A cover B, rests upon the top side of the tank, and wooden timbers C which also serve to secure the top of the units.

To supply to each unit a refrigerant, there are provided the usual and well known connections. For example, anhydrous ammonia being used as a refrigerant, there leads from a liquid header D, Figs. 2, 8 and 9, outside of the tank, a liquid feed pipe E with a valve F therein, which pipe is connected to the open end of the bottom blade header 1; while a return ipe G with a valve H, leads away from t e open end of the top return blade header 2.

For the purpose of harvesting the ice, hot gas may be properly introduced into each bottom blade header 1 from a hot gas header I outside of the tank and having a gas feed pipe J with a valve K opening` into the liquid feed pipe E, ahead of its valve F. To melt any ice that may freeze to the floor 10, Figs. 2, 8, 9, 10, of the tank, a hot gas releasing pipe L leads from the hot as header I to one end of each hot gas coi 9 below the floor; the other end of each coil, being in turn connected by a pi M with valve N to a hot gas return hea er O, also outside of the tank.

To use my invention, water Iills the tank to a point to cover the ice forming unit. Liquid ammonia, from the liquid header D passes to each bottom blade in the tank; the hot gas valves J, N, being closed. The liquid ammonia. fills the bottom feed blade header 1, and under a reduced pressure passes up through the holes 7 into the blades 5, where it boils and becomes equally distributed through the blade, and then continues through the holes 6 in the top blade header 2, into the latter, and on through the return p1 e G and its valve H into the return hea er P. It will now be obvious, .that the refrigerant ammonia, freely enters the bottom feed blade header 1 at the bottom of the tank, is permitted, as it naturally tends to do, to rise, become evenly distributed throughout the blades 5 and the top return blade header 2, and to do most efticient refrigeration; all of the ice forming surfaces of the blades 5, and the blade headers 1 and 2, being separated from the ness, and also being surfaces lying in desirable parallel planes.

When'suiiicient ice, as in Figs. 8 and 10, has been formed on the unit, the liquid return valve Hand the feed valve F, Figs. 8 and 9, controlling the flow of ammonia through the unit, are closed, and the ice allowed to tem r. The hot gas valve K to the unit, is s ightlv opened, the hot gas entering the bottom feed blade header 1 and filling the unit; 'ne'xt the return valve H being suiiiciently opened, thehot gas becomes evenly and quickly distributed over the interior of all the equally thin ice forming surfaces of the blades and blade headers and almost simultaneously melts the skin o ice attached to the ice forming surfaces. At the same time, to sever the ice from the fioor 10, Figs. 2, 8 and 10, of the tank, hot gas from the hot gas header I, is permitted to flow from the hot gas header through the hot gas releasing pipes L, by opening the hot gas valves L therein and also 'the valves N in the hot gas returnppes M. After this skin of ice is melted, the valves L', N, controlling th'e flow of hot gas'for this purpose, are closed. The resulting i'ce is thus freed,

and, rising, iioats upon the water ready to l be lifted out by suitable apparatus.

It is to be understood that other refrigerants than ammonia may be used, say brine; and that the structure may be varied without departing from the principle of my invention.

Desiring to protect my invention in the broadest manner legally possible, what I claim is:-

1. As an article of manufacture employed in making artificial lice, a blade header comprising a thin metallic pi having two of its sides opposite and para lel for the formation of ice thereon, and a third side lying between the said parallel ice forming` sides and having passages therethrough for a refrigerant liquid, and being adapted -to be secured to, and cooperate with, a hollow metallic freezing blade.

2. In a refrigerating machine, a single, thin, hollow, metallic freezing blade; a single, thin, hollow, metallic freezing blade header, across the top of the said hollow metallic freezing blade, for withdrawing the refrigerant liquid employed from the top portion of the hollow metallic freezing blade; a single, thin, hollow, metallic freezing blade header, across the bottom of the said hollow metallic freezing blade, for feeding the refrigerant liquid upward from the bottom of the metallic freezing blade; all of the exposed surfaces of said blade and header, being designed to be entirely submerged and utilized as heat absorbing surfaces for making ice.

3., In a refrigeratinmachine a series of ollow metallic freez- 131 nomme g ing blades adapted to be entirely submerged liquid Iupward from the bottom of the holin a water tank; means, whose surfaces are low metallic freezing blade; all designed to ice forming surfaces, designed to be below utilize for making ice substantially all of 15 the surface of the Water and connected with the heat absorbing surfaces of the machine,

5 the top portion of each of the hollow metalwithin thewalls of the Water tank.

lic blades, for withdrawing the refrigerant ln testimony whereof l ax my signature liquid employed from the top portion of the in presence of two witnesses.

blades, simultaneously; and means, whose i THoMAs H. RAY. surfaces are ice Iormlng surfaces, across the 10 bottom portions of the hollow metallic freezl/litness:l

ing blades, and below `the level of the Water, E. F. UNMC,

for simultaneously feeding the refrigerant CHARLES F. RICHARDSON. 

